Author's Note:

30 - 30 -30 -30 - 30

Welcome to Chapter 30!

Souji and Heisuke and Saitō - oh my!

Kondou-san is still away with Gen-san discussing the Ikedaya incident with various notables.

Shiranui may or may not get bored waiting for Amagiri to finish getting some sleep.

All the pieces are falling into place... Thank you for your continued patience and support!

Chapter 30 – Kaleidoscope

[I - The Shinsengumi]

Saitō said very little over the late breakfast. More surprisingly, perhaps, the same was true for Okita and Heisuke. Once they had finished, however, Okita raised the point that had been weighing on his mind.

"Hajime-kun. Tell us about the strangers. It isn't often we have beautiful ladies visiting our headquarters."

"What?" said Heisuke, startled.

Saitō nodded, feeling his face grow more guarded, knowing that Sōji would notice. It was interesting that in his new… state… he even noticed his own reactions more. He hoped that the continuous stream of information would eventually abate or become less distracting; right now it felt like too much.

"It is true, there were strangers here last night. A girl who reminded me a little of Yukimura and a woman who was – her bodyguard? I don't remember very well."

"Why not?" Okita asked bluntly. "Shinpachi-san said that he met both of them just outside your room."

Saitō met Souji's slightly suspicious stare with a typically flat gaze. It seemed that his outward self-control was reasserting itself at least.

"According to what I am told I had a very high fever. So my recollection is not perfect."

"Hajime-kun?" Heisuke's face was troubled.

Saitō found it harder to equivocate in the face of Heisuke's genuine appeal. He was rarely as impatient with the youngest captain as some of the others. Or at least… when he was impatient, he tried to remember that Heisuke's strength lay in his open nature and kind heart. Arguably he did not have the right temperament for the Shinsengumi, but on the other hand, Saitō respected him for having the courage to remain true to his nature in the face of everything that had happened in the past year.

"The younger one said that they were Oni. She was called Sen… Osen-sama? No. Sen-hime. Lady of Kyoto is what her shinobi bodyguard called her."

"Oni? They claimed to be Oni?" Sōji was trying not to laugh. "Hajime-kun, Hijikata-san must have been very worried about you to allow them into our headquarters with such a feeble story!"

"Perhaps. Yamazaki-kun said that I was dying."

Heisuke moved back from his tray and leaned against the wall. His clear gaze didn't leave Saitō.

"The Vice Commander believed them?"

"I do not know. But… I think that when everything was over he was inclined to believe, yes."

"Demons," Okita said, his tone torn between sarcasm and a kind of belief. The kind of belief a man got when the credible no longer explained the facts and the incredible became more difficult to refute.

Dark blue eyes met bright green and vivid turquoise. It was quite silent.

Finally Sōji asked the questions that he had wanted to ask from the start:

"Hajime, what happened to you? What did they do to you, those Oni? Were they connected to the two men Heisuke and I ran into at the Ikedaya?"

It was rare that Sōji was so direct without adding a barb or gibe. Once again, Saitō felt trapped not by force but by vulnerability. He really didn't want to talk about what had happened the night before, but at the same time these two might also have been affected by the blond Oni's actions.

Saitō blinked as his vision shifted somehow, just for a breath, and for the length of that breath he could see a shimmer of something like light in both of the other captains. He tried to focus, to regain the strange vision, but nothing happened.

"Um, you look kind of scary right now you know," Heisuke said, although he looked tired rather than frightened.

Saitō didn't respond; it took him a moment to recall Sōji's questions.

"I don't know what happened to me," he finally told the First Division Captain. "But whatever happened has changed me. It was painful."

Sōji and Heisuke exchanged glances. To the extent that he spoke of such things at all, Saitō never mentioned pain; discomfort was usually the strongest term he would use. Mind you, over the past couple of years he had become known for how rarely he was injured.

"I had nightmares," Heisuke muttered softly. "I was unconscious, but I had nightmares. I kept dreaming about them."

There was no need to say who they were. Every captain, to one degree or another, pitied and loathed the furies. Heisuke had once heard Nagakura say to Harada that it was bad enough to have to be on the brink of dying once, but to risk death as a second time as a monster, with a mind broken and a spirit beyond even the concept of honour offended the burly warrior profoundly. Saitō didn't want to discuss his own concerns along the same lines; he needed more information first.

Finally Sōji broke the new silence that had fallen.

"Well," he said practically, "I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. What else do you need to tell us, Hajime-kun."

The perceptive green eyes bored into him. Saitō hesitated, disconcerted by a sudden compulsion to tell the other captain more than he wanted to share at present. Then there was another strange shift in vision and he could see a faint green haze that seemed to be pushing at him – or maybe that was just a way of describing the indescribable. In a reflex that must have been born only last night, Saitō instinctively shoved the haze away – how or with what wasn't clear.

Sōji rocked back slightly, eyes blinking, expression startled. Heisuke was eyeing them both with an uncharacteristic frown and Saitō didn't miss the youngest captain's automatic reach for a weapon that wasn't there.

"What the hell, Saitō!" Sōji's expression shifted from startled to angry – always a quick transition for the man these days.

"Your eyes are yellow," Heisuke told him. "Like Sano-san's but brighter."

Saitō stood up.

"I will return to my practice," he said simply.

Sōji's eyes were narrow, his mouth a thin line.

"You should tell us what's going on."

"The Vice Commander or the Deputy Commander will no doubt explain anything that I may have left out."

Saitō crossed to the exterior door and would have left on those words, but Heisuke's next words brought him up short. The other man's light voice was tentative, but more questioning than afraid.

"Hajime-kun… did you know that there is white in your hair? I thought at first it was a trick of the light but… it's more obvious now."

The Third Division Captain was taken aback, but he could feel that his outward calm remained in place.

"Thank you, Heisuke. I did not know. Good morning."

He could feel Sōji's eyes on his back as he left. It was not a comfortable feeling. He could easily sense the frustration, uncertainty and anger in his usual sparring partner. He just wasn't sure why, other than in general terms. The old Sōji would have been recklessly curious but not so… harsh.

Once more out in the small courtyard he looked up briefly at the sun. Just over an hour to go, he thought. Before taking up his practice, he walked to the well and drew out a bucket of water, which he poured into a small but wide shallow basin nearby. Once the surface had stilled somewhat, he peered down at himself. He saw blue eyes – not gold – and indigo hair that looked almost black in the rippling reflection. Then he realized that Heisuke was right. A narrow lock of white hair brushed the left side of his face like a thin ribbon.

It would just take time to get used to it all, he thought. All the strangeness, the Oni, everything. The Shinsengumi would adapt and move on as they had done before. How sure are you? The betraying thought… For now, he would practice and learn about what he had become and learn why Sōji was so edgy and – hopefully – spend time with Yukimura. That was enough to be going on with… well, along with his regular duties for the Shinsengumi of course.

Heisuke came out to see him about a half-hour later and he stopped the pattern he was completing. Each repetition was faster and smoother than the last; he was starting to adjust.

"Heisuke."

As soon as Saitō lowered his bokken, Heisuke came down off the walkway so that he could speak more quietly.

"Hajime-kun… I just wanted to ask... Is it true about the Oni?"

"Yes."

"And… Chizuru-chan…" The aqua-eyed young man blushed slightly.

Saitō tried to formulate a response and then decided that he'd already said as much as he could on that subject. It was still very new to him, and precious. Every hope he'd had to keep his private matters quiet until he was more sure of where he stood with Yukimura had been destroyed thanks to the blond Oni's intervention, or so he now hypothesized. Even under normal circumstances he'd always known that any privacy would be short-lived, but he's never expected to have no breathing space at all.

He considered how best to extricate both Heisuke and himself from the topic and decided to be blunt.

"Yukimura was well when I last saw her. I have nothing else to add."

Heisuke sighed and rubbed gingerly at the back of his neck.

"Yeah, that's fair. Sorry. And you know you can count on me, right? I'm not just some kid, really."

Saitō breathed an inaudible sigh of relief and nodded. Then he thought of something.

"The other question that Sōji asked… Yes, I think what happened was connected to the two men from that room at the Ikedaya. They are Oni – or at least I am certain they are not human." He gave the slightest of shrugs. "I am not sure the name matters at that point."

"Weird. Well, in one way it makes me feel better about this headache," Heisuke smiled ruefully. "But I'd still like a second chance at the guy."

Saitō had stopped listening. He felt as though somebody were watching them and he was distinctly uncomfortable without his swords. Unable to wait, he handed Heisuke the practice sword.

"Wait here. Excuse me."

He moved off at closer to a run than a walk and arrived quickly at the Vice Commander's door. With only a short, if perceptible hesitation, he knelt and asked to be allowed to enter.

"Come in," he heard immediately, to his great relief.

He slid the door open. It was apparent that the Vice Commander hadn't been up long. He was just tying his hair up into its usual high pony-tail.

He frowned even as Saitō started to speak.

"What's wrong? And yes, take them."

It was hardly the graceful ritual it should have been. In a curious repetition of the previous day's events, Saitō snatched up his katana with his right hand and ran out of the room. Hijikata sighed, grabbed his own sword, and hurried after Saitō. This was getting old.

He arrived in the inner courtyard to find things a little chaotic. Heisuke was still there holding the wooden practice sword (not without a certain annoyance, it must be said). Okita was also there, his weapons tucked into his belt, both sheathed. He was unsuccessfully trying to conceal that moving and breathing hurt. Harada and Nagakura were there arguing about something in low voices, both armed but not in fighting stances. Neither of them was fully dressed, but Hijikata didn't count that as much different from what they usually wore. It took him a moment to locate Saitō, who was – predictably, now that he thought about it – hovering just outside Yukimura's room, sword drawn.

Hijikata surveyed the scene, eyebrows raised rather satirically.

"Is there an invasion, or did you all decide to get some practice in before lunch? Heisuke, I excuse you for the wooden sword – and for being out of bed – on the basis of your head injury. Does anyone else have an explanation for me?"

Despite the cold reproof in the Vice Commander's voice, his eyes were clearly scanning the area. Nobody spoke, and once Hijikata had decided that either there wasn't an enemy or if there were he couldn't sense him, he looked around again at the assembled captains and sheathed his katana.

"So?"

"I just wanted food," grumbled Nagakura. "Sano wouldn't let me finish dressing. Swore there was somebody out here."

"There was." Harada's face was a little haggard, but his eyes were clear enough and his voice was certain.

"I agree," stated Okita. "I don't know why, but that's what brought me here."

"Yes, and what was I supposed to do with a freaking training sword?" Heisuke demanded, turning irritably to look for Saitō, who he obviously hadn't seen yet.

"Like that would make a difference," said Nagakura reflexively. Heisuke didn't even bother to protest – it was clear that Shinpachi's heart hadn't been in the insult.

At that moment, Saitō took a step forward to make room behind him and Chizuru stepped cautiously out onto the covered wooden walkway. She was wearing her sky blue hakamashita and pale hakama, but her dark hair was tumbled around her shoulders and she was scrubbing at her eyes with the back of her right hand. In her left hand she had her sheathed kodachi.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" she called, as she took in the men staring at her from the inner courtyard. Saitō's presence at her door didn't seem to surprise her. She finished rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and desperately smothered a yawn.

"She's just so… cute…" Heisuke muttered.

"I know," Okita sympathized, which considerably surprised the younger man. "But, ah, you can't really mistake things now can you?"

Hijikata, Harada and Nagakura were thinking much the same thing. Saitō continued to scan the surroundings warily, sword still bare in his left hand. The word protective didn't quite do it justice, but only because it didn't capture the man's confidence not just in himself but in the girl. And as every man there was gifted with some measure of Oni perceptiveness, whether aware of it or not, not one was left in doubt that the unspoken, confident affection was returned.

Only Sōji's sharp ears caught the soft words that Saitō spoke to Chizuru before finally sheathing his katana, although they all saw her smile brightly in return.

"You remembered to bring your sword. Also, you have it in the correct hand for drawing it quickly. Well done."

[II - The Oni]

Not very far away – though farther away than he had been – Shiranui was looking extremely thoughtful. This was going to be interesting. If Amagiri had known about all this before leaving Kyoto…worse, if he had contributed to the current fascinating state of affairs then Kazama was going to be gravely displeased. Hell, he'd be –

"…completely pissed off. I mean, really Amagiri, what is this?" He finished his thought out loud since Amagiri was now close enough to hear both his thoughts and his speech. "What are these creatures? How can there be so many strong part-bloods here? And is their power actually growing or did this all just come about overnight, so to speak? And, oh, most intriguing question of all, why did you allow the girl to attain her true Oni form after telling Kazama to wait? Was she already involved with that man down there when you began your experiment? ... So many questions, Amagiri, and no good news for Kazama. I mean look at them! The one she's chosen is practically an Oni himself – that's unheard of."

Amagiri leapt lightly up to the same rooftop as Shiranui.

"Not quite unheard of, Shiranui. Just a matter of legend, that's all."

Shiranui laughed and flashed his slightly malicious grin.

Amagiri studied the assembled Shinsengumi and their Oni girl – or was it more accurate to say that they were hers? More importantly, he saw the indigo-haired man in front of her and thought that the Chōshu leaders might have a more difficult fight on their hands if Saitō continued to show promise and was allowed to remain with the Shinsengumi. He wondered what Shiranui would make of it, though. Would it make him want to take a more active role in the human conflict if he felt that the Shogunate had their "own" demons actively involved?

The red-haired Oni was becoming very confident that Saitō could become a full Oni. In fact, it explained something about Sen-hime that the other Oni clans had never truly understood: she had all the characteristics and powers of a strong pureblood, as her mother had before her, even though a human warrior-prince had supposedly tainted the bloodline many, many centuries before. But if Lady Suzuka had managed to transform her lover as Saitō was being transformed, then it followed that Suzuka's descendants would indeed be purebloods despite their human – or perhaps part-Oni – ancestor. Perhaps the Fourth Trial wasn't just a legend. Time would tell.

Shiranui prodded his silent companion. "Play a game with me, Amagiri!"

"A game?" Amagiri responded dubiously.

"Name the clan – ducal, noble, whatever – for each of them."

Amagiri sighed.

"Well I'd say that the left-hander – Saito – must be a direct descendant of the Shiranui. That indigo hair has only ever been seen in the direct descendants of your clan's first official lord."

"So the bride-stealer and I are related, what a strange idea! But those dark blue eyes, those are the eyes of the northeast coast and the Island of the Ainu – what is now called Ezo. Is that remotely possible? They all died… None bearing the Northern names remain since the massacre; the humans back then were very much more aware of the Oni and what they could do. They were… thorough."

"Well, given the strength I have seen in the Shinsengumi this past day, it is clear that in some cases their heritage comes from more than one family and possibly at different times. I look down and I see a kaleidoscope of the clans, many of them now extinct. True emerald green eyes have never occurred among humans, but according to our history they were not uncommon in the northwest and the north once. And your spearman, Shiranui, is possibly the most unlikely… Amber eyes and red, red hair. The hair could come from the Amagiri clan, but those eyes? Those haven't been seen even in the Western clans in five hundred years or more. I see first one thing and then another when I look at them, Shiranui. Though the purple eyes make me wonder very much."

Shiranui had to agree. Until two generations ago, only one clan had purple eyes. It remained a sensitive subject among the Oni, as he knew from first-hand experience.

"…Well, clan history is more your interest and Kazama's than mine. I take it that Osen-chan roped you in somehow?"

"Yes. Your kinsman – Saitō-san – was dying. And he was more Oni than human."

"Plus you liked him. You must have."

"Perhaps. Either way, Sen-hime asked me to come and Kazama-sama gave me leave to attend her. Moreover, I am quite certain that Kazama-sama's own actions are what brought the man to the point of either changing or dying."

"Ah, so your sense of honour was engaged as well. And now you're in trouble because the pureblood girl is now protected by a powerful part-Oni warrior that you rescued – not to mention all the rest of them. You know… There could be hell to pay for this Amagiri, and I don't know whether I'm worried or intrigued. I do still think the Tokugawas need knocking down a peg or ten. But at the same time…" His violet eyes narrowed. "We hardly want to kill off our own kind these days. The humans have done a fine job of that without our help."

"There is one other thing," Amagiri said slowly. "And it does bear on the clans and Lord Kazama must be told of it."

"Mm?"

"The girl. I found out last night that she is Yukimura Chizuru-sama." He said it flatly, knowing it for the potential disaster that it was.

Shiranui was silent for several moments.

"The heir to the Eastern Clans?"

"Yes."

"And she appears to be somewhat attached to a part-Oni captain of the Shinsengumi that you could have allowed to die?"

Amagiri just looked at him.

"I think I'd run if I were you."

"…No. Neither of us would."

"It was a joke, Kyūjyū-san."

"It is a problem, Kyo."

Shiranui wanted to roll his eyes, but didn't. He owed quite a bit to the other man – much of his training, among other things – he just wished that the big red-head had more of a sense of humour. However, he had never seen Amagiri so conflicted; his face might be impassive, but Shiranui knew him a little better than most. Also, he wasn't sure he'd ever heard him speak so much at one time.

"Well, I'd like to talk to my spearman. You said you have an in with them – the Shinsengumi - think you can arrange it?"

"Unlike me, you are most definitely an enemy. It would be difficult."

"Oh come on, you almost killed the little one with the big turquoise eyes… I didn't do anything but take a few chips off a spear, and Harada doesn't seem like a guy who'd hold a grudge just for that."

"…Fine. I'll ask the Vice Commander. But be warned and don't underestimate that one."

With that, Amagiri jumped off the roof and started his walk around the perimeter of the compound to the front gate. Shiranui Kyo was always unpredictable. Amagiri wondered what his former protegé thought about the possibility that the Shiranui clan might once more have a ruler to serve - and a new member to welcome.

[III - The Watchers]

A smallish teenage boy with dark hair and soft chocolate eyes sat on a similar roof a few buildings away, his arms wrapped around his knees. His katana was beside him, and occasionally he would run his hand along the hilt. He had watched the Shiranui clan-member arrive some time before, and laughed quietly to himself when the man's attempt to intrude on the Shinsengumi headquarters had been foiled by the arrival of several of their strongest warriors.

The boy appeared innocuous, but his expression when he saw the Oni girl walk out of her room and smile at the men around her was anything but friendly. Chizuru always, always had protectors, friends and allies. No matter what she did or where she went, people liked her and helped her. And somehow, she always made the people around her stronger. The men around her now, though, were a real concern. He hadn't come all this way to find her only to discover that she was, somehow, creating substitutes of her own choosing for her lost Oni clan. He had already decided how they would rebuild their lost family.

Since patience was his strong point, the boy stayed where he was and watched for quite a while, even after Amagiri had made his way into the compound. He had heard of Lord Kazama's advisor and bodyguard and had no desire to run into him. The boy noted each warrior's movements and registered as much as possible of each temperament and current mood. He would prefer to be closer, but he would wait until they were less keyed up.

However, the watcher was also being watched. A man not much bigger than the slender boy paused briefly in his second security patrol of the area and frowned slightly. Something about the boy seemed a little off, quite apart from the fact that he was staring into the Shinsengumi's back-yard, so to speak. He wondered why the boy looked so familiar, but couldn't place it. Rather than let the potential spy or assassin know that he'd been seen, Yamazaki continued on his way with every intention of reporting directly to the Vice Commander. Perhaps they could capture the boy and find out who he was and for whom he was working.

The purple-eyed shinobi moved away again unnoticed. His own mind had not been completely settled since overhearing Okita-san's conversation with Tōdō-kun and Saitō-san. It seemed highly unlikely that Saitō-san would behave in the way the First Division Captain had described, but he was uneasily aware that it was not wholly inconsistent with his own perceptions of the night before. Well, he was sure it would all become clear to him in time.

END

A/Note:So much to write about, so little time! :)

Trouble is very much on the way.

Thank you very much for your reviews and comments and for staying with this through weird Oni magic and thin. Your Favourites and Follows are also much appreciated.

See you (metaphorically speaking) in Chapter 31!